New Music Update // Cadmuim Issue 07 29 25

WHO IN 1977 KNEW ABOUT CADMIUM POISONING?

Multiple forensic studies have established that Srila Prabhupada’s was lethally poisoned with primarily cadmium for the better part of a year, at the minimum, by some of his own caretakers. In contradiction to scientific proof, inane deniers like the ISKCON GBC protest that this is impossible and ludicrous, claiming:

(1) cadmium was unknown in 1977 as a homicidal poison, and that,

(2) even today there are no cadmium poisoning cases on record.

Both are totally untrue. These people will deny truth and facts until they die.
The use of cadmium in Srila Prabhupada’s extended, lethal poisoning means that someone in Srila Prabhupada’s 1977 entourage did know of its lethality and its homicidal applications with proper doses. So, who could that have been? Where did these poisoners find out about the use of cadmium? Yes, cadmium is still not a well-known poison today, but Srila Prabhupada’s poisoners may have simply been advised by someone with a good knowledge of chemistry.

Even in 1977, any chemist knew about cadmium’s lethality, its suitability as a homicidal poison, and that it causes gastrointestinal symptoms that are common to many ailments. There were many chemists in and around ISKCON in the 1970’s, who could have, innocently or not, either way, passed information about heavy metals, and cadmium specifically, to one or more of the poisoners. Among the known or possible sources of such information are:

(1) Forensic studies have placed Tamal Krishna Goswami at the center of the poisoning. In 1968 he spoke on tape with Srila Prabhupada, showing he knew the ways of arsenic poisoning. The use of arsenic and his brother, cadmium, are practically the same. Already knowing about arsenic, and at a chemist’s suggestion that cadmium acts in the same way, Tamal could make the substitution with no need for any special expertise.

(2) Bhakticharu Swami studied chemistry for 6 years, which was his college study major in India and Germany up to 1976. However, he joined the caretakers after the poisoning was already underway, and as such, he was not the chemist who suggested cadmium to the poisoners. He was late on the scene, although he is very much implicated as an accessory during and after the fact.

(3) Chandra Swami was associated with many New York devotees in 1976-77, and he could have given the idea of cadmium to one or more of the poisoners, directly or indirectly. He was an expert in Ayurvedic medicines, black magic, extortion, bribes, and many dark activities, suspected in murder, poisonings, assassinations, bombs, terrorist wars, etc. He stands out with immense suspicion, and was the one who donated makharadhvaja to Srila Prabhupada in late 1977.

(4) The apparently naïve and innocent Swarup Damodar Swami was in India and with Srila Prabhupada many times in 1977. He was a Ph.D in organic chemistry, and certainly knew about cadmium, and he could have been easily, unknowingly “milked” for this simple information, that would only require a sentence or two. Not that he was involved, but the point is that this information WAS READILY AVAILABLE in 1977.

(5) Knowledge of heavy metal poisoning methodologies were readily available long before 1977, in literatures and medical publications. The 1960's discovery of Napoleon's very high hair arsenic levels gave much attention to the subject of secretive homicidal poisoning. Srila Prabhupada’s poisoners may well have read the 1972 book Who Poisoned Napoleon?

(6) Toxicology of the Eye by WM Grant (1974): “Ingestion of cadmium salts has caused severe and sometimes fatal poisoning.” This was years before Srila Prabhupada’s 1977 poisoning.

(7) Even by the 1940’s, cadmium was widely used in industrialized societies, and frequent accidental cadmium poisonings led to cadmium studies (including Friberg/1950, Bonnell/1955). It was well known by 1977 that cadmium caused life-threatening kidney malfunction, and this was Srila Prabhupada’s condition in his last year. Japan’s infamous 1960’s “itai-itai” incident involved hundreds of deaths and critically ill from cadmium tainted rice fields.

(8) In Srila Prabhupada’s Triumphant Departure: Complete Book of Poisoning Evidence, a list is given of 18 intentional, non-environmental, lethal or almost lethal cadmium poisonings, and many are related to political or religious conflicts.

(9) Cadmium is used by various foreign intelligence agencies, using atypical poisons like cadmium, polonium, dioxin, nerve agents, etc. And since only 10% of poisonings are discovered, the incidences of cadmium poisonings must be far higher. Political assassinations worldwide are increasingly using cadmium as one ingredient in a mixture with others (e.g., with arsenic and antimony, just as was done with Srila Prabhupada). Creative exotic heavy metals poison cocktails are extra toxic and logical for anyone with a chemistry background.

(10) Cadmium salts, the logical media for a cadmium poisoning, are readily available by mail order, in chemistry labs, etc. It is not restricted.

Cadmium is not commonly used as a poisoning agent in societal homicides (unlike arsenic). And most cadmium poisoning studies focus on hazardous occupational or environmentally contaminated situations, such as factory pollution in Poland.

But to say, “it was not possible in 1977 because it was unknown,” is UNTRUE and does not negate the forensic findings by Dr. J Stephen Morris at the Missouri Univ. Research Reactor that Srila Prabhupada endured almost an average of 16 ppm cadmium in his hair throughout 1977. Using cadmium salts to poison someone is very feasible, effective, and difficult to discover. And it is not hard to get this information...it is almost common sense.